Green Thinking

Choosing a new car? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet. The following cars are ranked by city and highway mpg based on the Environmental Protection Agency's Fuel Economy Guide for the 2015 model year.

Choosing a new car? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet. The following cars are ranked by city and highway mpg based on the Environmental Protection Agency's Fuel Economy Guide for the 2015 model year.

Choosing a new car? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet. The following cars are ranked by city and highway mpg based on the Environmental Protection Agency's Fuel Economy Guide for the 2015 model year.

Choosing a new car? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet. The following cars are ranked by city and highway mpg based on the Environmental Protection Agency's Fuel Economy Guide for the 2015 model year.

Choosing a new car? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet. The following cars are ranked by city and highway mpg based on the Environmental Protection Agency's Fuel Economy Guide for the 2015 model year.

Choosing a new car? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet. The following cars are ranked by city and highway mpg based on the Environmental Protection Agency's Fuel Economy Guide for the 2015 model year.

Choosing a new car? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet. The following cars are ranked by city and highway mpg based on the Environmental Protection Agency's Fuel Economy Guide for the 2015 model year.

Choosing a new car? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet. The following cars are ranked by city and highway mpg based on the Environmental Protection Agency's Fuel Economy Guide for the 2014 model year.

Choosing a new car? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet. The following cars are ranked by city and highway mpg based on the Environmental Protection Agency's Fuel Economy Guide for the 2014 model year.

Choosing a new car? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet. The following cars are ranked by city and highway mpg based on the Environmental Protection Agency's Fuel Economy Guide for the 2014 model year.

Choosing a new car? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet. The following cars are ranked by city and highway mpg based on the Environmental Protection Agency's Fuel Economy Guide for the 2014 model year.

Choosing a new car? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet. The following cars are ranked by city and highway mpg based on the Environmental Protection Agency's Fuel Economy Guide for the 2014 model year.

Choosing a new car? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet. The following cars are ranked by city and highway mpg based on the Environmental Protection Agency's Fuel Economy Guide for the 2014 model year.

Choosing a new car? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet. The following cars are ranked by city and highway mpg based on the Environmental Protection Agency's Fuel Economy Guide for the 2014 model year.

(Mercedes-Benz) Mercedes electric feat The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Coupe Electric Drive recently became the first electrically-powered production vehicle to make it around the legendary Nürburgring Nordschleife race track in under...

(Tesla) Tesla superchargers Tesla Motors is preparing to expand its network of fast-charging stations to make its Model S (shown) a more viable alternative to gasoline-fueled cars. Company head Elon...

(Toyota) Hybrid milestone Toyota's global sales of gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles has surpassed 5 million, a milestone for a technology that was initially greeted with skepticism. The company says it has...

(Porsche) Porsche's first plug-in Porsche is introducing its first plug-in hybrid with the second generation of the Panamera. The 2014 Panamera S E-Hybrid produces 416 total system horsepower and can...

(Detroit Electric) Detroit Electric is back More than 100 years after it began making cars, Detroit Electric is back in business. The automaker recently unveiled the SP:01, a limited-edition electric...

(Honda) Green ranking Five Honda vehicles have earned recognition from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. The ACEEE Greenbook Online ranked the Honda Fit EV (shown), Insight and Civic...

(Hyundai) Foreign hybrids President Barack Obama's administration, which set a goal of buying only alternative-technology vehicles for its fleet by 2015, bought mostly Asian brands. About 54 percent of the...

Choosing a new car? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet. The following cars are ranked by city and highway mpg based on the Environmental Protection Agency's Fuel Economy Guide for the 2013 model year.

Choosing a new car? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet. The following cars are ranked by city and highway mpg based on the Environmental Protection Agency's Fuel Economy Guide for the 2013 model year.

Choosing a new car? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet. The following cars are ranked by city and highway mpg based on the Environmental Protection Agency's Fuel Economy Guide for the 2013 model year.

Choosing a new car? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet. The following cars are ranked by city and highway mpg based on the Environmental Protection Agency's Fuel Economy Guide for the 2013 model year.

Choosing a new car? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet. The following cars are ranked by city and highway mpg based on the Environmental Protection Agency's Fuel Economy Guide for the 2013 model year.

Choosing a new car? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet. The following cars are ranked by city and highway mpg based on the Environmental Protection Agency's Fuel Economy Guide for the 2013 model year.

Choosing a new car? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet. The following cars are ranked by city and highway mpg based on the Environmental Protection Agency's Fuel Economy Guide for the 2013 model year.

(The Associated Press) Volt discounts General Motors is discounting the Chevrolet Volt more than four times the industry's per-vehicle average, according to TrueCar.com, an auto-pricing website. Edmunds.com and J.D. Power...

(Suzuki) Japan minicars With the end of the Japanese government's subsidy program for eco-friendly vehicles approaching, competition among low-priced minivehicles has been intensifying. Suzuki started selling its new Wagon R...

(Associated Press file photo) I-5 chargers Seven electric-car charging stations have opened along the Washington leg of the West Coast electric highway on I-5. The stations are in Blaine, Bellingham,...

(Coda Automotive) Coda partnership Coda, an electric-car maker based in California, has signed a contract with China's Great Wall Motor Company to co-develop an all-electric vehicle for worldwide distribution. The...

(Tesla) Tesla-Mercedes partnership Electric car company Tesla Motors will provide the powertrain for a new Mercedes-Benz vehicle, the company recently announced. Tesla will provide the battery packs, motor, gearbox, inverter...

(Hyundai) Battery guarantee Hyundai announced at the Detroit auto show last week that it will offer a lifetime replacement guarantee for the hybrid batteries in its Sonata gas-electric hybrid (shown)....

Choosing a new car? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet. The following cars are ranked by city and highway mpg based on the Environmental Protection Agency's Fuel Economy Guide for the 2012 model year.

Choosing a new car? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet. The following cars are ranked by city and highway mpg based on the Environmental Protection Agency's Fuel Economy Guide for the 2012 model year.

Choosing a new car? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet. The following cars are ranked by city and highway mpg based on the Environmental Protection Agency's Fuel Economy Guide for the 2012 model year.

Choosing a new car? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet. The following cars are ranked by city and highway mpg based on the Environmental Protection Agency's Fuel Economy Guide for the 2012 model year.

Choosing a new car? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet. The following cars are ranked by city and highway mpg based on the Environmental Protection Agency's Fuel Economy Guide for the 2012 model year.

Choosing a new car? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet. The following cars are ranked by city and highway mpg based on the Environmental Protection Agency's Fuel Economy Guide for the 2012 model year.

Choosing a new car? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet. The following cars are ranked by city and highway mpg based on the Environmental Protection Agency's Fuel Economy Guide for the 2012 model year.

(The Associated Press) Highway work The first fast-charging station in the Washington's "Electric Highway" is being installed at the Sehome Village Shopping Center in Bellingham. The remainder of the electric-car...

(Volkswagen) Lighter tread Japanese tire manufacturers released prototypes at this month's Tokyo auto show of two "green" tires. Bridgestone's new "air-free" tire uses a meshlike resin on the sides of...

(Volkswagen) Cleanest plant Volkswagen's new 1,400-acre plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., was recently rated as the cleanest and most energy-efficient car-manufacturing site in the world by the U.S. Green Building Council....

(General Motors) Electric spark General Motors will launch an all-electric version of its Chevrolet Spark minicar in 2013, the company says, bringing the automaker back to the pure-electric market for...

(The Associated Press) Paris car share Paris has begun a two-month testing phase on one of the world's largest electric car-sharing programs. Autolib', named after the city's Velib' bike-sharing system,...

(Rolls-Royce) Luxury e-car Rolls-Royce unveiled its first electric vehicle, the 102EX (shown), at the Frankfurt auto show this month. The luxury vehicle has an electric power-train engine and is based...

(Wheelbase Communications) Good karma Actor and environmental activist Leonardo DiCaprio will be the first recipient in the U.S. of a Fisker Karma range-extended electric sports car. Fisker, which has had...

(The Associated Press) Self-inflating tires Goodyear says its experimental Air Maintenance Technology will enable tires to remain inflated at the optimum pressure without the need for external pumps or electronics....

(The Associated Press) Shopping bonus Electric-car owners can "fill up" for free while they shop at The Outlet Shoppes at Burlington. The shopping center has installed chargers for electric vehicles....

(Wheelbase Communications) Thinking big Chrysler has joined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in a project to design and develop a hydraulic hybrid powertrain system that's suitable for large passenger...

(General Motors) Volt rush General Motors plans to have Chevrolet Volts in all participating dealerships nationwide by the end of this year, accelerating the launch of its extended-range electric car....

Electric scooter Yamaha is targeting fashionable green-minded Japanese consumers with a new electric scooter designed for short city commutes. The $2,700 EC-03, shown to reporters last week, is zero-emission...

(iStock) Efficiency costs A federal report has calculated the price of boosting fuel-efficiency in cars and light trucks. The study, from the National Academies of Science, found fuel consumption in...

Jupiter Images Efficiency funds The Obama administration recently announced $187 million in funding for nine projects designed to significantly increase fuel efficiency in heavy trucks and passenger vehicles. The nine...

Mercedes-Benz Water power Following General Motors and Honda into a hydrogen fuel-cell future, Mercedes-Benz has unveiled its B-Class F-CELL, a car that converts hydrogen into electricity. The company plans to...

Smith Electric Vehicles Electric trucking Coca-Cola, Staples, Frito-Lay and AT&T were among the companies that received Smith Newtons -- the world's largest commercially available battery-electric-powered truck -- last month at...

Bio Bentley Bentley's new Continental-coupe-based supercar will be capable of running on biofuel, which the company says represents "Stage One of Bentley's environmental commitment." The car will sport 630...